Knights of the Round
by silriven
Summary: Post KH2. The Radiant Garden is under assault. Kairi, Goofy, and Cloud volunteer for an expedition to bring back the Once and Future King.


Author's Notes: I wrote this when I was still waiting for Kingdom Hearts III.

* * *

**Chapter 1: High Tide  
**

Kairi tore down the beach, feet pounding against the white, hot sand. The soles of her bare feet burned with each step, the mild pain spurning her on.

"Kairi, you little cheat!" Wakka bellowed from behind.

"Last one in the water's a rotten egg!" Kairi shrieked, ripping off her beach cover and throwing it over her shoulder, hopefully to hit Wakka right in the face.

Kairi hit the water two seconds behind Selphie's adopted dog, Angelo, whose four legs carried her right to the front of the racing humans. The sand became cool, dark, damp and then Kairi was in the surf, the icy cold water hobbling her her steps. She was knee-deep when Wakka caught up. He scooped her up like a doll and threw her further out. She hit the water with a hard splash and sank under the surface as a wave broke overhead. A brief glimpse of the sun illuminating the watery world underneath, and then she surfaced, flipping her long red hair back and splashing Wakka.

Selphie was making much slower progress, shivering in her bright yellow bathing suit as she made small, delicate steps into the water.

"It's cold!" she whined.

Tidus carried up the rear, saddled with the beer cooler, towels, umbrella, and a single Blitzball. Though his eyes were hidden under his sunglasses, he did not look amused.  
"Way to leave me behind, guys!" he yelled, dropping everything onto the sand.

"Hey, it's a good workout!" Wakka protested, flexing one of his impossibly large biceps. "Gotta stay in shape for next season, ya?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Tidus stripped down to his bathing shorts and ran into the water, purposefully splashing Selphie as he passed. She let out a shriek.

"Jerk!"

"It's like pulling off a band-aid, hurry up and get it over with!" Tidus said, throwing the Blitzball at Wakka.

Wakka plucked the Blitzball out of the air with an almost lazy gesture. He spun the ball around on one tall, tan finger.

"Think fast, Kairi!" he said with a wink before tossing the Blitzball over her way.  
It was a gentle throw for Wakka, but it still stung Kairi's hands as she caught it, the force knocking her off her feat in the water. She laughed.

"Let's see if I remember how to throw this," she said, sticking her tongue out and squinting one eye to aim at Tidus.

Tidus slapped his face with one hand. "It helps if you look with both eyes!"

Kairi threw the ball and it sailed far to the left, way out of Tidus' reach even after he dove towards it.

"Sorry!"

A few strong backstrokes later and Tidus returned with the ball. Selphie had finally braved the temperature change and swam over to cling to Kairi's arm, still shivering with goosebumps.

The four of them floated in an awkward quadrangle and played catch until the girls got hungry. Kairi and Selphie made their way to shore and began setting up their makeshift beach site. Kairi cracked open two cold beers for them to sip on while they hammered the umbrella into the sand. After the umbrella was secured, they sat drinking and drip-drying on their towels as they watched the boys play an increasingly competitive game of one-on-one Blitzball.

"Such a beautiful day," Selphie murmured. "Not a single cloud anywhere…"

Kairi felt a small pang of melancholy as she looked out over the blue horizon. The day, just like most days on the Destiny Island beach, was perfect.

A flash of white light burst from the sky like a firework. It fell toward the beach. Kairi stood up, heart pounding. Was it a falling star…?

"What the…?"

It exploded over one of the nearby sand dunes. A hot wind blew through the sand, whipping up the umbrella. The light swelled and swirled around in an oval. Dark shadows snaked out from the edges and dissolved under the bright sunlight. From the center, a dark figure stepped out onto the sand. No, a human dressed in black, with a shock of spiky blond hair.

Kairi stood clutching her cool, empty beer bottle to her chest. Her heart was pounding. For a second, a tender feeling of hope rose inside of her only to crash in disappointment as the man's features sharpened into a different face, someone else that she knew.

"Oh my god, that thing is coming right for us!" Selphie jumped up. "I left my nunchucks in the car!"

"It's okay, he's someone I know," Kairi said, shoving the bottle into the sand before starting to walk out to meet him. The boys were already swimming towards shore, looking ready to turn the Blitzball into a projectile weapon. "Tell Tidus and Wakka it's alright."

Cloud Strife couldn't have looked more out of place on the beach. Sweat was already beading on his brow and arms from his short walk down from the sand dunes. From his grey, sleeveless turtleneck sweater to his black, steel-toe combat boots, he truly looked like he had stepped out of a portal to another world.

Kairi met Cloud under the shade of a a palm tree, the sickly sweet smell of the tree's paopu fruit hanging in the air.

"Hey, Cloud."

"Hello, Kairi," Cloud said. "Where's Sora?"

_Sora._

It had been so long since Kairi had heard anyone else say his name out loud that she couldn't wrap her mind around the question.

_Where's Sora?_

She said this to herself every single day, but it was a question the other residents of Destiny Island had long forgotten how to ask. Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus had dim memories of their friend, as did Sora's parents, but even then, his memory was faint, like a shadow. Occasionally they would feel his absence, a small hole in their beautiful paradise, the same feeling that you got when you've forgotten something but you can't remember what, like the feeling of not remembering if you'd left the stovetop burners turned on when you left your house for the day.

"I don't know where Sora is," Kairi finally said.

Despite herself, Kairi heard her voice crack. She cleared her throat. It was probably from the saltwater and beer.

"What about Rikku?" Cloud asked.

Kairi didn't know why it was Rikku's name that managed to bring tears to her eyes. Hearing Sora's name had put her into mild shock. Hearing a second erased friend's name tipped her over the edge.

Kairi quickly shook her head. The danger had passed. She would not cry in front of this man, who had seen some of his closest friends die right before his eyes.

"Do…" Cloud hesitated. "…you know when they'll be back?"

Kairi had indulged in countless fantasies about how she would respond in this exact moment, the moment that someone, anyone, would snap back to reality and ask her this exact question. Now it was finally being asked and she couldn't bring herself to say the words she'd always wanted to say.  
"They'll be back," was what she said instead, with a helpless shrug. "Someday."

"Hey, Kairi," a loud voice barked from behind. "You alright?"

Wakku and Tidus had finally caught up with her. They were breathing heavily and still soaking wet with seawater. They flanked her, puffing themselves up to full size, which was actually quite impressive. Wakka dwarfed Tidus and Tidus was much taller than Cloud. Cloud, despite his lean frame and almost boyish face, had a rough look to him. He had clearly been through some experiences that Tidus and Wakka had not. All three men exchanged wary glances.

"Tidus, Wakka, this is Cloud," Kairi said, forcing her voice to be cheerful, pretending like this was no big deal. "He's an old friend from my hometown."

Cloud looked visibly shocked at being introduced in this way. It was true, though, the Radiant Garden was just as much Kairi's home as it was Cloud's.

"Cloud," Kairi continued seamlessly. "These are my best friends: Tidus and Wakka."

"Nice to meet ya," Wakka stuck out his hand. Cloud took it and Wakka gave it a vicious shake. Tidus followed his example.

"Where's Selphie?" Kairi asked.  
"She, uh, ran to get something in the car," Tidus said.

"Well, any friend of Kairi is a friend of mine," Wakka said, giving Kairi's shoulder a squeeze. "You want to come over and have a beer with us, man? You look like you've had a rough trip."

Kairi suddenly noticed that Cloud had fresh bruises and scabbing wounds on his face and arms. A feeling of dread crept over her like a shadow passing over the sun. He was recovering from a recent fight.

"I think Cloud and I need to talk," Kairi felt her heart leap in her chest. She almost didn't recognize the voice coming out of her own mouth. "Alone."

Her cheeks burned under the shocked look on Wakka's face. Tidus looked impartial, but then again, Tidus had more self control.

"Are you sure?" Tidus asked, spinning the blitzball on the tip of his index finger.  
"Yes," Kairi said, her voice firm. "I'm sure."

Lesser men would have shrank under the look that Wakka gave Cloud. For his part, Cloud did not react, but merely lifted one hand to give the boys a passive wave as they retreated back to the neutrality of their beach blanket. Selphie, Kairi realized, who had in fact gone back to the car, had retrieved a pair of binoculars that she was now using to survey the pair.

"Sorry for the tension," Kairi said. "Folks like you don't come to the beach unless they're looking to start a fight."

Cloud nodded. "Understandable."

They stood in silence. Kairi drew a small circle in the sand with her big toe.

"There's been an attack," Cloud said, finally. "On the Radiant Garden."

Kairi felt her heart sink into her chest. She felt like she was slipping back into a long forgotten nightmare.

Again?, she stopped herself from saying.

"When?" she asked instead.

"We were under siege for about a week," Cloud said. "It's over, but…I'm afraid we might still be in danger. I was hoping to find the wielder of the keyblade. I thought he could help us."

_I was hoping to find a savior._

Kairi felt the beach spin. She heard a roaring noise in her ears, like a strong wind had picked up. But the ground was steady beneath her feet and the only sound was from the noise of the waves and the other families enjoying the summer weather.

"I'm sorry," Kairi said. "but he's not here. I don't think he's ever coming back."

It was the first time she said it out loud. She'd been dreading the words for months, keeping them in the back of her throat, fearing the moment when she would have to scream, but now that it had been said, she felt oddly at peace. She didn't feel afraid, saying the words to the soldier dressed in black, bearing the impossibly large sword.

Cloud nodded. He was staring out over the horizon, watching the ocean waves. He seemed almost transfixed, like he was savoring the moment's peace.

"But," Kairi found herself saying before she could stop herself. "He's not the only one who can wield a keyblade."


End file.
